The Last Oricru promises a world that adapts to your choices

GoldKnights’ The Last Oricru is an action-RPG that blends sci-fi and fantasy elements. Where the game is looking to set itself apart is in its dynamic branching paths, letting players influence the world around them with their decisions. Ahead of its launch later this year, we got to play a brief demo at PAX East and get a feel for what’s in store.

When I hopped into The Last Oricru, I played through a mission in which I needed to make my way through a base to speak with an important leader. There were several humanoid rat-like enemies that I fought along the way, as well as a human faction that was friendly towards me and my ally. While it felt like a standard mission the first time through, the devs then reset the demo, taking me through the same mission but on a different character path.

The second time around, the character that I played was one that had befriended the rat-like species. Because of that, we entered the base through a grimy sewer instead of taking a standard approach. What’s more, the human soldiers at the base were now adversaries, attacking us on sight. This included the leader that we initially came to speak with, who was now a boss battle waiting for us at the top of the base. This was all influenced by player choice, as dialogue options and gameplay decisions will strongly influence the in-game universe.

The Last Oricru also has an emphasis on cooperative play. Making my way through a mission with the developer by my side, I got to see how having two players in combat alters the experience. In addition to abilities that require two players to pull off, there are also secret areas and environmental puzzles around the world that are accessible through the cooperative effort of two players.

The Last Oricru looks like a fascinating marriage of sci-fi and fantasy, and the focus on branching pathways will hopefully add a sharp sense of replayability when the full game releases. It wasn’t the only Prime Matter-published game that we got to check out at PAX East, as we also played an early demo of Dolmen.

These impressions are based on an in-person demo played at PAX East. The Last Oricru will be released later this year for PC, Xbox Series X, and PS5.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_